Melbourne’s Studio Drydock had a major hit on its hands with 2022 farming-life simulator, Wylde Flowers. Not only did it win an Apple Arcade Game of the Year Award, and get nominated for a global GLAAD media award, it also proved to be a major commercial success for the emerging studio – enough that it’s inspired an entirely new prequel, Wylde Society, recently announced at Wholesome Snack 2024.
Per Amanda Schofield, co-founder, managing and creative director of Studio Drydock, Wylde Flowers was always intended to be a standalone game. It was born of a love for the farming and life sim genres, with a tight-knit group of developers working towards realising its most ambitious goals. It wasn’t until halfway through development that the team realised it had “something a bit special” on its hands. Then, on launch, the audience that grew around Wylde Flowers brought an even bigger surprise, and inspiration for franchise expansion.
“We were shocked when the game came out, with just how much players connected to it,” Schofield told GamesHub. “We’ve seen so much fan art, fanfic. People cosplay as our characters … When you’re presented with that, and it’s successful, there’s no doubt that you go out and build another one, and that you build something that speaks to that. Players are telling you that’s what they’re passionate about – why would you walk away from that?”
When the team started developing Wylde Flowers, it was just about figuring out “who [they] were, how [they] worked together, and what [their] strengths were.” Then, it became about much more than that – how to serve and grow an audience, how to build confidence, and how to continue impactful development. After several major updates for Wylde Flowers, including fan-requested features, Studio Drydock turned its attention to the next chapter of the Wylde Flowers story.
Expanding the world of Wylde Flowers
“We knew we were building a successor to Wylde Flowers,” Schofield said. “So we were looking at a bunch of different directions to take that. Do we do a prequel? Do we do a sequel? Do we take it years ahead?”
The team eventually struck upon the idea of focussing a new story on Vivian Wylde, the great-great aunt of Wylde Flowers protagonist, Tara Wylde. That meant taking the story back 100 years, to a time of great social upheaval and change. Partially, depiction of this era has been inspired by Titanic, as well as by real world history.
Read: Wylde Flowers review – Perfect escapism for a busy world
“The thing that makes us a bit different, about how we tell stories in our games … is we use our witchy universe to hold a mirror to current society,” Schofield explained. “So, when you think about the turn of the century, people are just starting to shrug off the kind of stodgy, formal ways that social events used to be held. Dating is new, people are going out dancing unchaperoned for the first time in history, as well as the big, formal, chaperoned events, depending on what part of society you’re from.”
“Factories have just become a big deal. But that means worker’s rights and unions are, for the first time, becoming a big deal – and women’s suffrage, people are fighting for rights, and fighting for equality. When we think about all of those themes, that actually lines up exactly with the kinds of stories that we like to tell. It’s so relevant to the current day, there’s so much that echoes what people are thinking about, what people are concerned about now.”
These themes will be a focus of Wylde Society, which aims to be a more introspective, character-focussed game than Wylde Flowers. As Schofield told GamesHub, that was something that was important, given how much players connected with all the characters in Wylde Flowers, despite the limitations of it being a farming sim.
“We know players play Wylde Flowers because they connect with the characters, and they connect with the story,” Schofield said. “So, we really wanted to build a game focussed on that. Farming sims aren’t great for that – [they’re] kind of lonely by default.”
In Wylde Society, you’ll instead be in charge of a boarding house, bringing in new tenants, looking after their needs, and throwing parties, as a means of connecting with each character. It’s a totally different spin on the Wylde Flowers formula, but there will be plenty familiar for returning players, too – including in the return of fan-favourite characters.
The Studio Drydock story continues
In developing this sequel, Studio Drydock aims to continue building the legacy established by Wylde Flowers. Importantly, it’s also keen to maintain the spirit, enthusiasm, and stability of its creative team, even as the outside pressures of economic decline and a reduction in games funding disrupt the balance.
It’s not more difficult to create games than it’s ever been – but in choosing to stay small, and to continue working diligently through rough waters, as supported by the Wylde Flowers community, Studio Drydock is prepared to weather the storm.
“I am just so grateful to our players, because thanks to their continued support, we’ve never been affected by the current turmoil in the industry,” Schofield said. “We’ve been able to affix our own oxygen masks, and even reach out and start to bring in some of this incredible talent that might otherwise leave the industry, because there’s so few jobs around.”
“It’s been devastating to watch the industry go through this, and all we can do is hold out a hand when we can, to save those who are struggling through it.”
As Schofield said, there always seems to be ebbs and flows in the games industry, and while we’re currently in a “really rough time,” with no end in sight for the current downturn, there has always been a spirit of ingenuity and perseverance in game creation, and particularly in Australia’s local games industry.
Schofield was part of the games industry during the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis, when “the entire Australian games industry seemingly collapsed overnight.” While this appeared to be the darkest days for the industry, it soon recovered and progressed. Currently, in all corners, conversations around progression are advancing again, tinged with a note of hope.
“What I’m hearing in the indie space is, ‘Do something unique, do something that people can really connect with, and something that hasn’t been seen before.’ That’s what’s bringing success at the moment,” Schofield said. “I just think that is such a positive direction for the industry to go, if that’s where we’ve decided is the only safe route out of this dark space. What a beautiful industry it could be.”
Wylde Society does not have a firm release date yet, but you can now wishlist the game on Steam.
